Healing Hearts (New Hope Falls #6) - Kimberly Rae Jordan Page 0,84
look before turning his attention back to Sophia. “He is stabilized for now, but he’s likely going to need to be in intensive and possibly isolated care for the first phase of his treatment and recovery.”
“What about the test?” Sophia asked.
“We’ll do it here and send results to the hospital in Seattle as soon as we have them.”
Sophia looked at him. “Ryker?”
“The children’s hospital is the best place for kids like Bryson who need medical care.”
“It doesn’t mean he’s worse,” Fred said. “It’s just that they are better equipped to deal with sick children like Bryson.”
Ryker knew that this was the right decision from a medical standpoint. However, it was going to put him right back into a hospital he’d once worked in. Even if he hadn’t known Fred Backman at this hospital, he would know people at PNWC.
Fred went into detail about how the transfer would take place. Ryker didn’t say anything, waiting until the other doctor was finished to see if Sophia had any other questions.
“Can I go with him?” Sophia asked.
Ryker already knew that he’d be driving her car to the hospital regardless. He wasn’t going to be leaving her or Bryson’s side unless he had to.
Over the next several hours, the test was done, then Bryson was transferred to the children’s hospital and settled into the PICU there. Those hours definitely had their ups and downs. Bryson had roused as they prepped him for the test, crying and scared.
So as Sophia had comforted him, Ryker had done what he could to comfort Sophia. By the time Bryson was in a room in the PICU, Ryker could see the exhaustion on Sophia’s face. Her shoulders slumped as she sat down beside Bryson’s bed.
He knew without asking that she planned to stay there with Bryson, probably for the duration of his hospital stay, if she could manage it.
As he observed Sophia, he started to worry about her as much as he was worrying about Bryson. She had a frailness to her that matched the fragility in her son.
He stayed in the room with Sophia and Bryson, stepping out only long enough to get them both food and something to drink. Not that Sophia had eaten much of what he’d gotten. Though to her credit, she had tried.
It was odd, being on this side of things…having knowledge of what they were telling Sophia but no real right to voice an opinion unless she asked him to. And she did ask him about pretty much everything, apparently choosing to trust in his medical knowledge.
By nine o’clock that night, Ryker knew he had a decision to make. Sophia was definitely staying at the hospital with Bryson, needing to be there for him in case he woke up. However, Ryker knew he needed to get some sleep, and that wasn’t going to happen in a chair in a PICU room.
Plus, he couldn’t risk having a nightmare while in the same room as Sophia and Bryson.
“Sophia,” he said, drawing her attention from where Bryson lay sleeping once again.
He knew Bryson’s lack of wakefulness weighed on her even though he’d explained that it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. But he understood. Though Bryson had never been a super active child, he also was never this still.
“I’m going to head back to New Hope.”
Alarm flared in her eyes, but she didn’t voice it. Instead, she just wrapped her arms across her body and said, “Okay. Thank you for staying with me today. I really appreciate it.”
“I’m going to be back first thing tomorrow morning. Do you want me to bring anything from your house?”
She looked down at herself and frowned. It was clear she would have liked a change of clothes, but he doubted that she wanted to ask him to pick those out for her.
“How about I ask Lani if she’d be willing to pack up a few things for you?” he suggested, feeling fairly certain that the woman would help him out.
“If she would do that, I’d really appreciate it.”
“I’ll give her a call, and if you think of anything else that you’d like for Bryson, let me know.”
She glanced at where he lay. “I think there are a few things he might like.”
“Okay. I’ll text you when Lani and I are at the house, then you can tell us what you’d like.”
“Thank you,” she said. “Thank you so much.”
Ryker knew he needed to leave, but he approached her chair and dropped down onto his haunches. Taking her hands in his, he said,